Fishermen are interested in attracting and catching fish with the greatest efficiency possible. A wide variety of fishing lures have been designed to catch particular species of fish in their natural habitat. In addition, the type of fish sought and its natural habitat will offer factors such as weather conditions, time of day, tides, and water temperature, which may determine which particular lure will be most effective to catch the fish sought at a particular time and location. For this reason, most fishermen have a relatively large collection of lures which are used in various fishing endeavors, thereby increasing one's chance for a successful fishing trip.
Such lures are generally integral units, each having its own hooks, leader attachments, etc. The result of maintaining a collection of varied and readied lures during a fishing trip is most often a relatively crowded and tangled tackle box, with many of the lures seldom used or possibly not used at all during any given fishing outing.
It is known in the fishing industry that fish of various species are attracted to different colors, as well as action and style of fishing lures on any given day. This attraction can actually change with the time of the day; for instance, on an hourly basis. It is imperative that the angler adapt the fishing lure to the situation if he/she wishes to catch fish consistently. This generally requires the lure to be detached from the fishing line, and the newly selected lure to be tied to the fishing line. This task can be annoying, difficult, and time consuming whether in a boat or on shore casting into the water. The fisherman must seek out the proper lure in a crowded tackle box; and, if the case, maintain a steady hand on a wavering vessel in order to tie or thread the fishing line through the eye opening on the lure. Timing is also a factor because fish do not maintain a particular position for very long. Fisherman may frequently maintain a sizable collection of different shaped, styled, and colored lures representing a considerable investment in a wide range of tackle equipment. Maintaining a large collection of lures, with many already having a hook attached thereto, presents a storage problem to the fisherman. If the lures are stored apart from one another, it takes up valuable space in a tackle box or confined space in a fishing vessel. Additionally, if lures are stored together, the multitude of hooks leads to frequent entanglement which takes up valuable time to retrieve and untangle the one lure chosen. Thus, a need exists for a fishing lure with a single head portion and interchangeable tail portions so it may be transformed into a variety of different lure types in order to alleviate the issues discussed above.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,152 discloses a lure having a frame to which hooks and a leader attachment eye are secured, with different lure bodies being interchangeably attached to the frame. The lure bodies are formed of a hard and rigid material in order to provide the required grip to each side of the frame portion, but '8152 does not disclose a removable tail portion which is interchangeably attached to the main body portion of the lure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,453 discloses a fishing lure, including a rigid body and interchangeable body sleeves telescopically attached to the rigid body, whereby a variety of bait configurations can be used on the same lure in accordance with a particular fishing condition. The disadvantage associated therewith is that in rough current or debris the sleeve can become dislodged from the rigid body as only a frictional relationship is used to maintain the sleeve tail portion in contact with the rigid body.
Weights have been used in conjunction with fishing lures in order to vary their movement in the water and to determine the depth at which the lure travels. The weights create a sensory enticement to fish because fish are often times attracted to movement, such as the movement of live bait fish in water. Accordingly, fishing lures have been designed to move in water in a manner similar to the way a bait fish would naturally move. To obtain such movement through the water, lures are designed and manufactured with various weighted regions within or at a singular predetermined weight that cannot be changed. These weighted fishing lures at times impart unnatural movement characteristics during use because of tides, currents, or tension in the line. Additionally, if the proper depth or movement is not achieved by the fishing lure, this generally requires it to be detached from the fishing line, and a replacement selected and attached to the fishing line. This task can be annoying, difficult, and time consuming as discussed above. For instance, U.S. Publication No. 20100175305 discloses a fishing lure having a body constructed of at least two different materials. Its design calls for one of the materials to have a density at least two times greater than the other material in order to achieve a desired motion or orientation in the water. Disadvantages associated therewith include having a preset weight for the lure that limits or prohibits changing of its motion, orientation, and depth in the water. Thus, the need exists for a fishing lure with adaptable weights to enable the lure to achieve the desired motion, orientation, and depth in the water.
The broad concept of a fishing lure having a releasable hook is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,151 describes a fishing lure in which the hook and body separate when a strike occurs. The fishing lure comprises of a lure body, a hook, and a wire member. The body has a slot extending therethrough with a shoulder located along the slot. The hook includes an elongated shank with a projection therein which normally engages the shoulder on the lure body, so the hook remains engaged with the lure body. The wire member extends therethrough the lure body and is attached on one end to a hook eyelet and to the fishing reel on the opposite end. The hook is housed in the slot with the re-bent bight portion extending outside the lure body. The lure body shoulder is releasably engaged with the shank and projection of the hook, where upon a strike, the body and hook separate with the lure body sliding up the wire member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,233 describes a fishing lure which exhibits a relative lost motion between the body of the lure and the hook upon a fish strike. The fishing lure comprises of a lure body, a limb, an elastomeric band, a fishing line, and a hook. The lure body has a leading end and a trailing end. The limb, having an eye formed on one end thereof, is coupled to the trailing end of the lure body. The eye on the limb is outwardly extending from the trailing end of the lure body. The hook includes a shank with an eyelet formed thereon. The hook is tethered to the limb using a length of fishing line fastened at the hook's eyelet at one end and the limb's eye at the opposite end thereof. An elastomeric band confiningly surrounds and releasably holds the hook, limb, and fishing line in a juxtaposed position rearwardly remote from the trailing end of the lure body. Upon a fish strike at the hook, the hook and fishing line move out from the band and the hook proceeds in the opposite direction to travel with the fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,303 discloses a fishing lure that does not have an exposed hook until sufficient tension is placed on the line. The lure comprises of a lure body, a fishing line, and a hook. The body has an aperture therethrough and at least one channel. The fishing line extends through the aperture and is attached to the shank of the hook. The hook is placed into a channel, changing the direction the fishing line runs in the aperture, so that the fishing line in the channel runs in the opposite direction of that in the aperture. Using this configuration, the hook will be dislodged from the body if sufficient tension is placed on the fishing line.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,006 discloses a fishing lure having a forward body portion and an interchangeable tail portion. The tail portion is removably secured to the body portion. The disadvantages associated therewith are that the lure does not allow for variation in action needed to achieve the desired motion, orientation, and depth in the water achieved with interchangeable weight, nor does it include an interior chamber in its forward head portion for housing a spool upon which an extended leader assembly can be arranged.
Accordingly, the need exists for a modular chambered fishing lure having an internal spool for providing compact storage for an extendable leader, detachable weights, and a plurality of interchangeable tail portions to overcome the limitations of the prior art.